Plaza Restaurant -- Lunch/Dinner -- Table Service -- Magic Kingdom
*This dining experience took place in December 2013.
The Plaza Restaurant holds a nostalgic place in many Disney visitors’ hearts. Located at the very end of Main Street U.S.A., this restaurant is reminiscent of a turn-of-the-century ice cream parlor. There are two sections of the Plaza – the ice cream parlor itself and the table service location just around the corner. Both options allow guests to order various special diets related ice cream. From a non-dairy banana split to lots of topping options, there are a lot of options to choose from.On this particular occasion, we visited before Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. Typically, we eat at Liberty Tree Tavern before a holiday party at the Magic Kingdom, but this year we had a slight change of plans, and so we ate at the Plaza which was about the only option available besides Tony’s Town Square other than quick service. I had visited the Plaza last in November 2012 and didn’t have a great experience (read that review HERE.) I was hopeful that I had one bad experience and that this one would be great, given I’ve heard so many wonderful things about Chef aka Cousin Ken and the restaurant in general.
It was a slow afternoon at the Plaza and we were seated promptly. I was told they would bring an allergy binder but they never did. I have to say, this is a weird restaurant. It sort of straddles quick service / table service. It’s not really quite either. This is also the only restaurant that I know of Disney property table service wise where they bring out an allergy binder (unless you specifically asked for an ingredients list, etc.). Chef Guerrin came out to assist me before an allergy binder ever came out. The last time I had gotten the Club Sandwich, so I decided to go for it this time. I remembered that I liked the griddled bun and I was kind of hoping I’d get it again (I didn’t). I also asked if they had a dedicated fryer for the fries, and he said, “Don’t worry about it. I’m not going to make you sick.” Um, OK. Well, I appreciate his dedication in saying it will be safe, but I kind of wanted to hear the statement, “Yes, we have a dedicated fryer.” And he just wouldn’t say that. Every time I asked him something (and I asked in multiple ways), he would say “It’s fine. Trust me.” This chef really needs to learn to interact with special diets folks. It’s not that I’m distrusting but a little information about your process makes me feel a lot safer.I also ordered a sundae with Rice Dream vanilla non-dairy ice cream and Chocolate Tofutti with strawberry sauce, pineapple sauce, chocolate syrup (which he kept saying was fudge and I kept telling him no syrup, fudge has dairy), and nuts.
My sandwich came out pretty late compared to the other meals, not anything unusual given that it often takes longer for my food at quick service locations. When the sandwich came out, I noticed it was Udi’s bread. Thank goodness that Udi’s can be eaten cold without any needing to be toasted or heated up. Because this would have been a rough sandwich otherwise. I admit, I personally would have like to have seen it toasted or griddled. But, that’s just me. I couldn’t confirm if they still had GNI buns on hand, though my guess is they do. The fries were nothing to write home about – basic steak fries. My sandwich was also just so-so. It tasted like something I can make at home. For the price, it’s not a terrible deal but really, I should have just gone to Columbia Harbour House for allergy chicken tenders!Once it was time for the sundae, again I had a considerable wait time. As in, my family finished their dessert before I got mine. Once mine came out, I quickly noticed it was minus the chocolate sauce. I asked if they didn’t have safe chocolate sauce then anymore? The chef then quickly ran to the back and brought out a container with sauce. It seemed thick. Thicker than Hershey’s chocolate syrup. Given there were so many confusions about the syrup already, I asked the server to please get the chef so I could talk to him. Again, I got the “the chef brought it out so it is safe” statement, but I insisted that they get the chef.
When he came out, he basically told me it’s the right thing and just trust him. I explained to him that I would get very sick if I consumed dairy and that I really wanted to make sure it wasn’t the wrong thing. I asked if he could just please bring out the binder and/or packaging of what he served me. He then went back and got the “hot fudge” sauce to compare. They looked fairly similar but not quite the same. I still explained that I wanted to know if this was OK but it wasn’t Hershey’s. Holy moly; he was not getting this. In the meantime, my mom tried it and said it tasted like syrup to me. Finally, he brought out the ingredients binder, which confirmed it was Mrs. Richardsons sauce which explained the difference. All I honestly wanted was confirmation that I wasn’t going to get dairy. Chef Guerrin was not at all happy with me by the time we went through all of this. But honestly, I felt like he didn’t take this or me seriously at all. I understand he has a busy kitchen to run and that it’s crazy. But it certainly wasn’t what I expected from Disney in terms of handling special dietary needs.In general, I think I might be done with the Plaza for a long time. It just seems like every time I go I get less than stellar food accommodations and very little information about what I’m consuming. This last one just really gave a sour taste in my mouth on the Plaza; especially after he made me feel so bad after the whole chocolate syrup ordeal. The sundae, which was actually good but not great, wasn’t really worth the hassle. In fact, I’d rather just go to 50’s Prime Time for their brownie sundae (soooo good!) or Beaches n’ Cream. And given the quality of the food, it’s not worth it as a table service for me.I’m giving this particular experience a 4 for mediocre food but mostly because of the whole chef interaction from start to finish. I know that lots of you really love the Plaza, but the chefs I’ve had here haven’t really made my experiences good.Have you been to the Plaza? What has your experience been?